Kerry

My dad attempted suicide and survived. 7 years later, he shared his message with the world: Here are the 12 habits that sabotage your mental health: 1. Casual drinking. Alcohol is a drug that decreases our fear of consequences. The more you drink the longer you tolerate self-destructive behavior. Stop drinking casually. 2. Not taking care of your physical health. The brain is part of the body. Your mental and physical health are not separate things - they are reflections of one another. Stop skipping workouts. Stop eating crap. You know this already. Take action on it. 3. Inconsistent sleep patterns. Inconsistent sleep increases stress hormones like cortisol. Go to sleep at the same time every night and lower your room temperature to 69 degrees or lower, we sleep better in colder environments. 4. Not having a circle of like-minded men. My dad says if he had just one or two friends he could've called - he wouldn't have attempted suicide. Social isolation is the breeding ground for depression, anxiety, and stress. Find a circle of like-minded men you can lean on. 5. Eating foods that negatively affect your brain chemistry. High-calorie, high-chemical foods are linked to cognitive decline and brain diseases like Alzheimer's and dementia. Eat more foods close to their natural form like black coffee, meat, fish, eggs, and fruit. 6. Watching the news. Rates of homicide, starvation, and poverty in the United States have all decreased over the last century. Rates of anxiety, depression, and suicide have all increased in the United States over the last Century. The news gives people a false perception of how bad life is. Watch less news and your stress will immediately decrease. 7. Hitting snooze. Hitting snooze when your alarm rings normalizes breaking a promise to your past self. Start waking up when your alarm rings. When you keep small promises to yourself it builds a sense of internal trust and confidence. 8. Negative self-talk. Never call yourself lazy, fat, or not good enough. Negative self-talk creates a negative self-identity - which leads to self-destructive default actions. Even when you admit your flaws, encourage yourself with positive language. 9. Workaholism. My father was on a business trip when he attempted suicide. Never prioritize work over your well-being. Your well-being determines the effectiveness of your work. 10. Skipping workouts to spend more time with your family. Speaking from experience, your family would rather have you mentally and physically healthy than have you depressed, unhealthy, or dead because you didn’t make time for yourself. 11. Watching p*rn. Men are evolutionarily hardwired to lead, serve, and protect women. Every second of p*rn you watch builds the belief that you cannot serve or lead a real woman. How could a man not be depressed with this belief? 12. Avoiding hard physical challenges. Your brain can’t tell the difference between emotional stress and physical stress. Do hard things on purpose and the rest of your life will feel easy. 1 person dies every 10.5 minutes in the US due to suicide. I hope this message can help just one person today. Re-post to spread awareness.